Facing the Giants
Facing the Giants is a 2006 American drama film directed by and starring Alex Kendrick. The cast, composed of volunteers from Sherwood Baptist Church, includes Shannen Fields, James Blackwell, Bailey Cave, and Tracy Goode. Shot in Albany, Georgia, the film relates an underdog story about American football from an Evangelical Christian worldview. The film was released to DVD in early 2007 and made its television debut on September 21, 2008, on Trinity Broadcasting Network. thumb|300px|left Plot Facing the Giants is the story of Grant Taylor (Alex Kendrick), a mediocre high school football coach. After several years of failing seasons, the Shiloh Eagles are considering replacing him as head coach. This is not the only problem Taylor is facing; his car is breaking down, and he finds out he is the reason that his wife (Shannen Fields) cannot become pregnant. In order to get his life, and football team, back on track, he realizes he must cry out to God for help. He creates a new coaching philosophy – he needs to praise God when they win, and praise God when they lose. From that point on, they lose only one game, and go on to win the State Championship by defeating the champion team, the Giants. After such fortune, his wife also becomes pregnant at last. Cast *Alex Kendrick as Grant Taylor *Shannen Fields as Brooke Taylor *James Blackwell as Matt Prater *Bailey Cave as David Childers *Steve Williams as Larry Childers *Tracy Goode as Brady Owens *Jim McBride as Bobby Lee Duke *Tommy McBride as Jonathan Weston *Jason McLeod as Brock Kelley *Chris Willis as J.T. Hawkins Jr. *Ray Wood as Mr. Bridges Production and marketing The movie was shot on high definition digital video tape (using the Panasonic Varicam) and transferred to film. Using real high school football teams, the football action sequences were shot by the film's director of photography, Bob Scott, who is a veteran cinematographer for NFL Films. Another NFL Films technician, Rob Whitehurst, recorded the movie's sound. Soundtrack The church music minister, Mark Willard, wrote the film score. The film also uses seven Christian pop songs from Third Day, Casting Crowns, Bebo Norman, Ana Laura, Josh Bates and Mark Willard. There are five tracks of original score during the soundtrack. Third Day's distributor is Provident Label Group, which is associated with Provident Films, Sony and Samuel Goldwyn Pictures. The latter eventually distributed the film nationally. A routine request for permission led to the national release of the film. Official listing *"Come Together" - Mac Powell *"Voice of Truth" - Casting Crowns *"Facing the Giants Theme" (Score) - Mark Willard *"I'm Finding You" - Bebo Norman *"The Deathcrawl" (Score) - Mark Willard *"Completely" - Ana Laura *"A Gift from God" (Score) - Mark Willard *"Come on Back to Me" - Mac Powell *"Never Give Up on Me" - Josh Bates *"The Fight" (Score) - Mark Willard *"With You" - Mark Willard *"Attempting the Impossible" (Score) - Mark Willard Release Facing the Giants was released on September 29, 2006, and received an MPAA rating of PG for "thematic material and sports violence." Awards Category:Sherwood Pictures Category:2006 Films Category:Films Category:Alex Kendrick/Director Category:Alex Kendrick/Producer Category:Alex Kendrick/Writer Category:Stephen Kendrick/Producer Category:Stephen Kendrick/Writer Category:Alex Kendrick/Actor Category:Drama Category:Sports